Virginia Tech's Ahmed Hill reacts as he congratulates Kerry Blackshear Jr. after a basket against Miami during the first half of an ACC tournament game in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday, March 13, 2019.

Virginia Tech's Kerry Blackshear drives to the basket against teammates Miami's Ebuka Izundu, right, and Anthony Lawrence II during their ACC tournament game in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday, March 13, 2019.

Virginia Tech's Ty Outlaw celebrates a basket against Miami during the first half of an ACC tournament game in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday, March 13, 2019.

Nell Redmond/Associated Press

Virginia Tech's Ahmed Hill reacts as he congratulates Kerry Blackshear Jr. after a basket against Miami during the first half of an ACC tournament game in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday, March 13, 2019.

Chuck Burton/Associated Press

Virginia Tech's Kerry Blackshear drives to the basket against teammates Miami's Ebuka Izundu, right, and Anthony Lawrence II during their ACC tournament game in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday, March 13, 2019.

CHARLOTTE, N.C.

Ty Outlaw is familiar with the feeling of getting on a roll from 3-point range. A 47.5 percent 3-point shooter in two seasons at Virginia Tech, he’s made four or more shots from long range in a quarter of his games for the No. 16-ranked Hokies.

He had another one of those binges Wednesday afternoon in the second round of the ACC tournament. He made all four of his 3-point attempts in the first 12 minutes of No. 5 seed Tech’s 71-56 win over No. 12 seed Miami.

“It was really just my teammates getting to the paint and being aware that I’m ready to shoot whenever they kick it out,” said Outlaw, who finished with 14 points. “So, we were just getting into the paint with the plays we were calling, and I was just ready for it.”

Outlaw’s early shooting, which fueled Tech’s quick 11-0 advantage, and Kerry Blackshear’s fourth double-double in the past six games helped the Hokies (24-7) advance to a quarterfinal at 3 p.m. Thursday against No. 4 seed Florida State (25-6).

“If (Outlaw) has space and he has ten toes to the rim, I think he’s an elite level shooter,” Hokies coach Buzz Williams said.

After the game, Williams was asked about reports he could be the top candidate to replace departing coach Billy Kennedy at Texas A&M. Williams, a Texas native and former Aggies assistant, indicated he prefers to stay focused on his current team.

“I’ve never commented on jobs,” Williams said. “I don’t think that's appropriate by our kids. ... I can't control what people say. I’ve got to make sure I’m doing my best with these guys.”

Outlaw wasn’t nearly as hot late in the first half and in the second half, missing his last four 3-pointers and heading to the locker room for about six minutes in the second half because of an apparent leg injury. He returned to the court with 7:51 left. By that point, Blackshear had taken over, scoring 12 points in the second half. He made 8 of 12 shots for 19 points while collecting 10 rebounds.

“I think that we tried to attack early in transition,” Blackshear said. “That helped each of us. When you have teammates like ours, it makes the game a lot easier from the start whether we’re hitting or not, because everybody is a threat. We know that if somebody is hot, that’s the person we’re going to find.”

Tech led 38-21 at halftime, but came out of the locker room flat. Miami (14-18) opened the half with a 14-4 run to cut the Hokies’ lead to seven points. Tech responded with a 20-5 run, extending its lead to a game-high 22 points. The Hokies shot 50 percent from the floor for the game, and 40.7 percent from 3-point range (11 of 27), while Miami made 33.9 percents of its field goal attempts.

Miami cut the lead to 66-54 with less than three minutes left, but the Hurricanes missed their last four shots and couldn’t get any closer. Chris Lykes, who rolled his right ankle with 3:24 left and left the game, led Miami with 19 points.

It was the second straight game in which Wilkins contributed double-digit scoring — a first in his career. His performance came at a good time, considering starting guard Ahmed Hill scored just five points.

“I feel like this is the best time to do this,” said Wilkins, who had 11 points last Friday night in Tech’s Senior Night win against Miami. “It relieves some pressure off Nickeil, Ty, (Wabissa) Bede and Ahmed.”

Tech will try to redeem itself against FSU, which overcame a 14-point halftime deficit March 5 to defeat the visiting Hokies 73-64 in overtime . If Tech wins, it’ll mark just the fourth time since entering the ACC in the 2004-05 season its gotten as far as the tournament semifinals.

“In the first half at Florida State, we were able to keep the ball high on the floor and not get in the (defensive) rotation,” Williams said. “In the second half, we did a poor job of that, and their pressure really bothered us offensively the first eight or nine minutes of the second half.”

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